Tudela's departure from the Cabinet--apparently due to his concern over a string of embarrassing scandals facing Fujimori--deprived the government of one of its most widely respected and popular figures.

Fujimori's drop to a 23 percent approval rating showed the depth of public outrage over a phone-tapping scandal and the annulment of an Israeli-born businessman's citizenship.

Government officials said Fujimori would swear in lawyer Eduardo Ferrero Costa, a member of the team negotiating a border dispute with Ecuador, as his new foreign minister.